Rich, reclusive and relentless: the man who would be king (of north London)

He is the man who would be king of Arsenal - a reclusive 59-year-old multibillionaire who still stays in good enough shape to play basketball on the same practice court as his NBA franchise, the Denver Nuggets. Stan Kroenke is not your average American sports tycoon, but he has already become the key figure in the power struggle at one of English football's most revered institutions.

To get an idea of the power of Kroenke you need to visit the heart of his empire in Denver, where he owns five sporting franchises and is attempting to take soccer to the American masses. It is an operation built over two decades by the man who now owns 12.19 per cent of Arsenal and whose intentions have fuelled the speculation that on Monday forced the club's major shareholder, Danny Fiszman, to reiterate his board's intentions that it is not about to sell up.

Kroenke is notoriously publicity-shy, to the extent that even his local newspaper The Denver Post interviews him only via email. Instead the public face of his company, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, is the executive vice-president Paul Andrews, who told The Independent this week that he saw Arsenal - with whom Kroenke's Colorado Rapids soccer team have a marketing partnership - as "one of the greatest brands of any sport - and I'm not just talking about soccer".

Andrews would not discuss Kroenke's long-term intentions towards Arsenal or comment on any connection between the American and David Dein, the club's vice-chairman who was forced out by the board in April. However, Andrews said the partnership with Rapids had survived the acrimonious relationship between the club's board and its new, acquisitive shareholder.

"Both sides have something in common, we can help drive the Arsenal brand across the United States, that makes some sense," he said. "There is Arsenal product in our retail stores. Right now we are working with Adrian Ford [commercial director] and Keith Edelman [managing director] to develop the ideas."

Andrews has visited the Emirates Stadium and Highbury - "I loved its character". Between them they are planning an Arsenal "academy of excellence", although the real issue will be what happens if Kroenke manages to buy enough shares to trigger a bid for the whole club. He met Edelman and the chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, in New York last month, although Edelman's most recent comments that the club do not need a new owner suggested that there is little support for Kroenke from the board.

Nevertheless, Kroenke has proved an implacable force in the past. As well as the Nuggets and the Rapids, he owns ice hockey's Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth (lacrosse) and Colorado Crush (indoor American football). All apart from the Rapids play on the edge of Denver's downtown at Kroenke's Pepsi Center arena, where the man himself has a penthouse apartment for when he is in town.

Kroenke has revolutionised sport in Denver, where the population of two million had traditionally watched just the NFL team, Denver Broncos. Under his leadership Avalanche have twice won the Stanley Cup and the Nuggets should be in a position to challenge seriously for the NBA championship next season. A child's ticket to watch the Nuggets is only $5 (£2.50), while for an adult the price is just twice that.

Andrews said that Kroenke's empire works on the basis that, if the teams attract fans when they are children, then they will stay for life.

However, it is in soccer that Kroenke has placed his greatest faith, spending $70m (£35m) on a new 18,000-capacity home for Colorado Rapids. It is surrounded by 24 youth soccer pitches - the largest complex of its kind in America.

It would be easy to see how the purchase of a high-profile English team would fit with his plan to win over America through summer tours and promotions. Dick's Sporting Goods Park may not sound like one of the world's potentially great football stadiums, but Arsenal would help to shine a little light on an obscure outpost. Neither of the new American owners at Manchester United and Liverpool have their own Major League Soccer teams.

"I have seen what really good soccer is - you live with it in England," Andrews said. "We think Major League Soccer will rise to that level over time. We think that will happen if we develop youth soccer in the United States. No kid needs to be rich to play soccer. You have a ball and you can put two cones down for a goal. You don't need fancy shoes, big jerseys or pads.

"We think our park will be sold out every single night. We might add on to the stadium, we have the ability to do that. My kids play soccer and their kids will play soccer and that is different to my generation."

David Beckham has already met Kroenke, who also introduced him to his friend, the country singer Garth Brooks, when the former England captain came to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the MLS All-Stars' match on Thursday. It is only the likes of Beckham who can command an audience with one of the most secretive businessmen in American public life.

Enos Stanley Kroenke, according to Andrews, "doesn't seek the limelight - and that is putting it mildly". When he is in Denver he heads to the Nuggets' gym to train and still gets on the court "to shoot hoops or kick the ball around a bit". He fits the image of Colorado's outdoors tradition, with a passion for hunting, fishing, skiing and building fences on his four ranches. He also owns or co-owns three Californian vineyards, a hotel in Hawaii and a property empire alongside his sports business.

When it comes to the running of his sports teams, Kroenke takes a close interest in new players. It was Kroenke who personally endorsed his executives' move to sign the star player Allen Iverson last year. Kroenke was a promising athlete himself at school and university, where he played baseball, basketball and ran for the athletics team.

"Personal recognition isn't something I have been concerned with or thought about much," Kroenke told The Denver Post this month. "I think if you work hard and are honest, then good things will happen."

It has been reported in Denver that Kroenke is still in such good shape through training sessions with the Nuggets' fitness coach that he has a lower body-fat percentage than some college basketball players who have joined the franchise. He is regarded as an everyman American success story, who worked in his parents' hardware store in Missouri, attended university in the state and opened his first business there - a shop selling clothes to students.

His marriage to Ann Walton, an heir to the Wal-Mart dynasty founded by her uncle Sam Walton, meant that Kroenke had a connection with one of America's richest families. His wealth is estimated at $3bn (£1.5bn), her fortune is estimated as close to that. Despite the fact that his wife's money alone could have given him a comfortable life, Kroenke set about building an empire and a fortune of his own.

He is understood to have travelled extensively in Europe to look at football stadiums before Colorado Rapids' new home was designed. Much of the money generated from the Pepsi Center comes from additional revenues like the 5,500-capacity car park - an advantage from which the Emirates Stadium does not benefit.

"Our company can see what is around the corner," Andrews said. "We are not naïve or inexperienced in sport. We are passionate about the development of soccer in the US."

Team Kroenke: Stan's sporting empire

Denver Nuggets (NBA)

Purchased in 2000

Colorado Avalanche (NHL)

Purchased in 2000 from Charlie Lyon's Ascent Entertainment Group

Colorado Rapids (MLS)

Purchased from Phil Anschutz in 2004

St Louis Rams (NFL)

Co-owner since the club's move to Missouri in 1996

Colorado Crush (Arena Football League)

He bought the Arena Football Club in 2002, in partnership with the American Football legend John Elway and Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen

Colorado Mammoth (National Lacrosse League)

Purchased in 2004

Arsenal (Premiership)

Bought 9.9 per cent stake from ITV in April 2007. Now owns 12.19 per cent